II
the first airdrop of a nuclear device within the United States; saw
the first burst photographic effort, using radarscope images; and,
perhaps. most significant of all, the first attempt to sample a nuclear
cloud with a manned aircraft.
Mamed Sampling. Following Operation SANDSTONE, Colonel Joseph J,
Cody, Jr., had continued work on the possibilities of collecting cloud
samples with manned aircraft,
For three years, he conducted, or had
conducted, a number of theoretical studies which were favorable, but
realized there was no time to organize drone samplers for this operation.
However, he asked the Air Weather Service headquarters for some WB-29
aircraft with which to conduct experimental sampling,
The request came
just 28 days before the first shot was to be fired and Colonel Fackler,
who had been transferred from Guam to Washington since SANDSTONE ended,
helped secure these aircraft.
Eventually three WB-29 aircraft were
removed from storage and made ready for the sampling program,
Personnel
installed filter boxes, like the ones used on drone aircraft during
SANDSTONE.” Two more WB-29 aircraft were secured and modified to track
the cloud.
Several purposes evolved for the program,
First the cloud tracking
aircraft were a requirement established by the Atomic Energy Commission.
The cloud samplers, however, were for the Air Force atomic‘energy
detection system,
They also afforded an opportunity to calibrate radiac
instruments then available, and to test the feasibility of manned
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